Soaps & the 8 Deadly Words

"I don't care what happens to these people." are the eight deadly words (for more information see tvtropes.org for the historical usage.) The concept is that the characters are so poorly written, that the audience stops being engaged in the story. While this originally comes from the world of science fiction, it can be applied to soap operas.

Over the years, most soap viewers can recall a new character that just wasn't enjoyable. The character was annoying, took too much airtime and their purpose wasn't clear. If such a character became central to the program, their interest would decrease in the show. While it is easy to ignore one character who falls into this category, sadly sometimes a soap can be "overrun" and this can cause viewer erosion.

When long term characters get "generic" story or one that stretches the credibility of the character, sometimes the actors can "save" the material simply by their past playing the role. As viewers, we may be more willing to stick with it even if the characterization within a particular plot is weaker than expected. That being said, if someone isn't invested, they are more likely to be impatient and move on quickly like a sports fan who supports a team when they are doing well, but bolts during a losing season.

As a long time television fan, I've gone through this many times. Due to a story, I just stop caring about the characters and drifted away from a program. Occasionally once a show's run is over, I'll come back and see what I missed, but oftentimes I'll move on to something new. The daytime shows should think about this when creating their stories as even the best plots need strong characters.